The present disclosure relates generally to respiratory therapy systems. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed to a respiratory therapy system that includes a high frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) therapy and a Mechanical Insufflation/Exsufflation (MIE) therapy.
Respiratory therapy systems are used to treat a variety of diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, emphysema, asthma and chronic bronchitis, to remove excess mucus that collects in the lungs. Some of the therapies include manual percussion techniques of chest physiotherapy and mechanical insufflation/exsufflation techniques. To bypass dependency on a caregiver to provide respiratory therapy, HFCWO devices and MIE devices have been developed. The HFCWO devices have been developed to deliver HFCWO therapy to a patient's torso to promote airway mucus clearance by generating rapidly oscillating externally powered cough like air flows and pressures in the airways of a patient. The MIE devices have been developed to deliver MIE therapy to a patient by artificially stimulating cough internally to clear airway secretions.
The device most widely used to produce HFCWO therapy is THE VEST™ airway clearance system available from Hill-Rom Company, Inc. An example of such a system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,104, which is assigned to Hill-Rom Services Pte. Ltd., and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Further, an example of an MIE airway clearance apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,539,952, which is also assigned to Hill-Rom Services Pte. Ltd., and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.